• Home
  • Joyful Musings
  • Joyful Health

My Mind's Meanderings

In which I hope to bring some sense of edification through entertainment

Of Mushrooms and Honeybees

3/4/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
I don't really remember the first time I had mushrooms, but I remember not liking them for a very long time. Then in my 20's I had them in a dish at an Italian restaurant and fell in love. My main way of cooking them is simple: sliced and sauteed in butter with a dash of salt. My husband wasn't thrilled with mushrooms until I tried cooking shiitake's this way and then he was hooked - and then our Amish Dairymen started raising shiitakes and we had them FRESH. Oh my friend... if you have never had fresh picked local mushrooms... you are missing out! They are so delicious that in the fall of that year Kyle went with our Amish friends to harvest lumber and we ordered our own mushroom spores to 'grow' our own shiitakes!
Since then I have delved a little deeper into the mycological world and learned that mushrooms are excellent for our health, they are healing to the areas in which they grow, AND they are healthful for Honey Bees! I haven't posted much on this blog about our bees yet but if you follow me on Facebook at all you know that we have gotten bit by the bee bug. And all beekeepers are struggling horribly with trying to keep their bees alive - except for a few intrepid 'natural beekeepers.' I could write a whole post - indeed write a whole blog!! - on Natural Beekeeping alone, but suffice it to say that in a nutshell bees kept without chemicals or regular inspections of breaking open the hive have the same chances if not higher of honeybees kept under Industrial Standards. And... if you learn a few herbal, homeopathic and mycological tricks, they have an even better chance! But again, more on that later. 
One of the things I have been so frustrated over is how much the church has fallen hook line and sinker into what the Food Industry and Allopathic Medicine tote as their mantras. 'Don't question the Big Pharma, take what they tell you or you will DIE!' How is that helpful or even biblical? Since when do Christians ascribe to checking their brains at the door and only doing what they are told? Hmmm... unfortunately that seems to be the climate of the Church today. But once again, this isn't a theological rant against the church. This is about mushrooms and honeybees and how they blessed me today. Because on the topic of vibrant Christians who think, love bees and love mushrooms...
I'd had a run-in on a friend's facebook page with someone I didn't even know. I had stated an opinion about there needing to be cooperation between natural and allopathic healing methodologies. This individual reacted in such a vehement and attacking way that I was caught off guard. The only thing she seemed to be happy with is for everyone to apologize to her for ever thinking anything other than what she did and joining her bandwagon - which smacked of the crusades against anything allopathic. SO I politely disengaged from the conversation but left feeling very triggered. 
I checked the mushroom facebook page and saw someone thanked me for keeping honeybees... whaaat? SO I responded they blessed us which is why we kept them. Then I got a friend request from this individual! I felt  apprehension... my track record with strangers on facebook wasn't great today! But I summoned my courage, hit accept, and like any self respecting millennial proceeded to peruse her facebook page....
She is my age, she loves mushrooms, she loves bees, AND she loves Jesus!!! 
It was so cool. Such a blessing. We messaged back and forth a bit and I left feeling genuinely encouraged. 
So there is your little 'social media isn't evil' vignette for the day. 
I hope it blessed you!

Next post I'll try to tell you more about our beloved honeybees... 

0 Comments

Where do I store the eggshells?!

1/24/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
We've discussed the fact that I have gone to the dark side of Crunchy organic. For those of you who were worried before, well, its gotten worse. Case and point, we now only take one regular size trash bag to the dumpster on an almost bi-weekly basis (bear in mind we don't have kids yet). However, as delightful as Pinterest, Farming Magazines, Better Homes and Gardens makes Country and Organic life sound, this is currently my reality:
Picture
That jar perched on the three inches between the sink basin and plummeting onto the floor? Those are those lovely eggshells that enrich the soil. The dishes to the left, cluttering the pinterest-worthiness of the photo? Those are due to the lack of dishwasher in this quintessential farm house. In the basin to the right, you will see a collection of eggshells waiting to be washed and dried to enter the collection of calcium crumbles aforementioned, next to four duck eggs that I am waiting to see if they have cracked due to the ridiculously capricious temperatures we are currently experiencing. 
My husband and I decided we need to create an actual schedule for my life that does not revolve around his constantly rotating schedule. Having a set wake-up time and bedtime regardless of what shift he is on, set chore days regardless of whether or not he is home, and some autonomy in my routine is something we both recognize I need but both are unsure of how to acquire. These are the points of farming and Emergency Service Family living that I just haven't heard anyone talk about, but wish people would! Perhaps the burnout and divorce rates would do an about face and start declining if we talked about the embarrassing lack of clean counter space due to an ignorance of how to keep each other included in daily life without allowing the other's schedule (or lack thereof) to monopolize the time. 
My husband requires rest when he comes home, and we both desire reconnection after he returns from a 24 hour shift away. BUT - depending on how chatty we are feeling... the poor chickens don't get fed til noon, the dog gets abandoned in her yard, the dishes go unwashed, the laundry unsorted, the dust gathers at alarming paces... and I promise you I DO SWEEP regularly, but mopping is another topic altogether...
I'm not burnt out, nor frustrated, nor resentful of our life. As I stood in the midst of chaos in the kitchen last night brewing a cup of chamomile tea, my husband slipped his arms around my waist and asked if I liked our life. And I honestly answered "I LOVE our life!" 
I just don't know how to BALANCE everything. Pinterest says 'save your eggshells' 
Ga-REAT. Where? The kitchen counters are full to capacity and so are the cupboards because I cook everything from scratch and sometimes I even prepare the scratch! (example: I render our own lard from pigs, ducks and chickens. Told you it got worse!!!) We have a compost bucket and a chicken scrap bucket that currently live on the floor next to the door of the pantry. 
Now rest assured I have a plan. The plan is: Clean the closet off the carport, which will leave space to finally clean our the laundryroom and get it organized, which will give a place to put the cleaning supplies that live under the kitchen sink, which will give a new home for the eggshell bucket, the chicken scrap bucket, and the compost bucket. Which is about a week's worth of sorting, cleaning, organizing, and putting away. 
Did I mention sorting and organizing is one of my weak points?
I share all this not to bemoan my lot in life or parade my weaknesses, but to bring some real life to the idyllic. 
I love our life. 
But its messy!!

Balancing the  frugal, organic, functional, self sufficient, emergancy services, regenerative farming lifestyle... does not lend itself to 1960's idyllic housekeeping. However, please know if you stop by, I am still trying... to keep from inventing diseases... and we are still learning how to balance our indoors life with our outdoors life. 

Picture
0 Comments

Hello I'm back

1/8/2019

0 Comments

 
Picture
Now that we have FINALLY figured out how to bypass the black hole of the internet our Delightful little Farm is located in, I can dust off the ol’ blog and continue sharing adventures with you!
                I’m still a little unsure as to the direction I want this blog to take. Is it going to be another informative activist foodie blog? Will it just be an online journal? Will there be DIY projects and recipes? Will there be political rants and please for activism from my readers? Will it be a collection of semi-theological, libertarian, earth-stewardship rants? Will it be cute pictures of whatever small creature currently inhabits my spare time and clutters my SIM card of my camera? Will it be a place to brag without mercy about how awesome life is? Will it be a place to completely wilt and fall apart about how crappy my day is? Will it be a cesspool of adds blocking the promised soundbite of actual desired information? I guess it will be a little of each, except perhaps the last one (pet peeve: if your blog gets so cluttered with adds that you are supposedly making money off of by people clicking on, that I can’t find your actual post, please know that no matter how interesting your writing may be, I’m not going to read it. That’s just me).
                I used to think I was alone and unique in the fact that I am 32 – technically an adult, and by the previous generation’s standards, I’m ‘middle aged’ – however to my relief my fellow Millennials feel that adulthood has just begun. So whew. I’m not old yet – and still trying to define what functional adulthood means. What does it mean to live in peace with yourself, your past, your fellow man, your circumstances?  What does it mean to take ownership of your life without slipping into being a control freak? How do you balance being a good steward of your health, your body, your safety, and not become an obnoxious fanatic everyone groans to hear from? Yeah I thought I was completely alone in these thought processes. However, I’m finding as I grow older, more vulnerable, ask more questions, get out of my bubble more, and get to know more people, that really that’s just the journey of life we are all on. All of us have a Past, all of us have hurts. All of us struggle with forgiving those who should have known better, who should have done something but didn’t, and who are still clueless as to why the hurt exists. All of us have made mistakes. None of us want to be judged. All of us want love and peace, and most of us are still struggling to define what that means and what it looks like.
                I’ve always loved to write. Mostly stories of dragons and fairies, and I always had a journal as a kid, thanks to my Grandma Trudy. Thanks to my Grandma Donna, I always had wonderful adventures from my summers to fill those journals with. Despite being told, assured, exhorted, admonished  and encouraged that I’m a good writer and people like reading what I’ve written, I still feel self-conscious about my writing. My gift of description tends to lead to run on sentences, and despite speaking three languages and Signing one, Grammar and I have never really been friends.
                So this dusted off blog is partially for you and partially for me. Partially so my poor introverted husband isn’t attacked by his gift-of-gab wife whenever he comes home tired from work and just wants to decompress for fifteen minutes. If I spew some of my words into cyberspace, maybe I can restrain myself for the fifteen minutes he needs to take off his boots, chug a glass of our raw, whole milk, breathe deeply for a few minutes, and then reboot so he can enjoy what I have to share with him. Partially so I can process my life, because I am an external processor, and partially so that on the days when I think I’m a failure at life and am boring I can re-read what I’ve written and be encouraged. That’s the ‘for me’ part. The ‘for you’ part is you get to read an allegedly wonderful writer try and embrace this gift of sharing life through words. Hopefully it will encourage you that there are REAL people tackling the multitude of issues our society faces – about living beyond a i-something screen (ironic, that an online article talks about living not solely on a computer!) and wholesome food, pollinator sanctuaries, gardens, families, friends, communities, Amish Friends, Farmer Friends, City Friends, Police Officers, Hippies, Cats and Dogs do all exist in the world still! And maybe it will inspire you to try tackling some things of your own.
                We just finished our first year on a farm, and I’ve talked with others at the Farmer’s Market about how all the how-to books are written by people who have done it for 20 something years, are now successful, and only have a little blurb somewhere in the introduction or epilogue about how the farm creatures don’t read the how-to books and not every day is glamorous. But there isn’t a book that gives you a look about what the first five years are like in real time, that still gives you hope at the end. I mean it kind of makes sense; only 2% of the Farms started in our country last beyond 5 years. I guess we’re all too busy surviving or feeling guilty about our ‘failures’ to want to broadcast to the world, ‘hey you should try this too!’ But I’ve got a wacky sense of pride; I don’t mind talking about the weird, wacky, slightly embarrassing – if its real and helpful and true to life. So I don’t mind telling you that the first six months of farming I was strictly “NO medications, pesticides, wormicides, germicides, antibiotics…. Nothing! Just herbs and nutrition!” and then after two weeks of BEASTIES invading all my young creatures AND my small intestine I suddenly became very integrated in my treatment approach and got to know my vet rather well. Then I spent the next six months experimenting with how to incorporate Allopathic and Natural treatments to myself, my young creatures, and my husband. I may even write a blog post about THAT one of these days!
                All that being said, please don’t read my blog and feel bad about yourself, comparing yourself to me and say, “See she’s got it all together! I could never do what she does!” Because I don’t and you can. The only thing that makes me more able to do this is I’m not the guy on Apollo 13 who barks, “FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION!” Failure is necessary, because from failure we learn. At least in learning curves of Homesteading, Housekeeping and Cooking, or other areas we’re learning in  (Now obviously there are some things you don’t want to fail at, and there’s a few things I’ve decided I’m NOT going to fail at – like my Marriage. Therefore we go to Counseling. We set ourselves up for success).  I say all that very humbly because I’ve heard people make statements like that to my face, and it always makes me feel very bad about myself and that person. I’m not trying to show you up! I’m just trying to be Faithful to what I’ve been put on this earth to do. You aren’t me and you aren’t supposed to do exactly what I’m doing. Find your own niche! You are good at things that I’m not good at. For example, I just really cringe at the thought of working in an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and have an eight figure salary doing that. That sounds like prison to me – but there are people in this world to whom that sounds like pure heaven. Great! Go for it! I’ll dig in the dirt and breathe free air and enjoy the value of the Dollar while buying my Apple Trees, and you work in the office and keep our dollar values stable, and read about my crazy adventures in your clean office and air conditioning and desk that is undoubtedly free of dust and has glossy pictures and nifty office gadgets.  Both of us are necessary to keep our society and community running, and that’s great! We could still meet at a coffee shop (preferably a farm-to-table, fair trade, organic coffee shop and sit in upcycled chairs made from pallets from Walmart… but Starbucks is acceptable too…..) and share the differences of our lives and learn from each other, have a few laughs, and walk away both feeling edified and uplifted. No problem.


So there you have it, dusted off blog. I really don’t know if this post has a Thesis statement other than, “Hey I’m back! AUGH!”
But hopefully you found it entertaining and thought provoking. 

0 Comments

Silent encouragement

5/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
My husband has had to work a 48 hour shift, and I have been busy trying to catch up on 2 weeks worth of neglected housework. After traveling and going to a fabulous workshop weekend for school, both participating members of some friend's wedding party, and negotiating various family events, we've felt like we're actually kind of a normal couple again! It was very nice... while it lasted. 
Not that we're oh-so-special. I'm just saying that there IS no such thing as normal. 
Yesterday I was able to visit Kyle at his fire station and brought him some teas I had made, homemade soup and a delicious invention I concocted this winter: free range duck stuffed with venison steak and wrapped in bacon. It. is. amazing.
We chit-chatted about a house for sale that I saw and a job opportunity for my husband and which family members we'd each talked to, about a party in 2 weekends that we're not sure we can make it to, etc. 
Today when he called I knew something was up, and in a very normal voice he told me he didn't have time to talk, he just wanted to say he loved me. 
And he was helping work a wreck with a fatality.
It was said so normally I almost missed what he said. When I asked for clarification, he said he was working a head-on-collision car accident with numerous injuries and a fatality. 
"I'm sorry baby."
"At least its not a kid." was his response. 

I have heard stories he's told me of similar cases where he worked EMS, but it was always in the past tense. This is honestly the first time in our marriage that I've been with him while he dealt with this particular venue of his occupation. I've been to funerals of others who gave the ultimate sacrifice for their job, but its very different being the wife of someone working the front lines of everyday life. 
A good friend of ours called a few weeks ago and is a new police officer. He called to share funny stories and then a bit later casually mentioned that he'd been a bit stressed in his premarital counseling appointment with his fiance because he'd worked a suicide case and had walked in unexpectedly on the body.
'Yeah it was weird. I was kind of keyed up the rest of the day... swore a little more than usual.' 

The emergency service men that I personally have known don't make a big deal out of their jobs. They don't tell the gory stories or walk in with a swagger and demand to be hailed as heroes. Of course I know there are those that do, I'm just saying that i haven't personally met them. And I'm very proud of all of them. 
I am so thankful that the media SEEMS to have gotten off the, 'lets bash police officers!' kick it was on last year. (And quite frankly I still am so disgusted with them for doing that I can't really bear to watch the news and have prayed for restraint to not write a very long letter to each news network detailing their stupidity. Its not a threat, I just want to know for my own curiosities sake who they planned on calling if there were shady sounds coming towards them from outside the next night? Because i hope it wasn't their local police!! Ok end rant)

However I wish awareness was raised for the GOOD peace officers out there, the godly firefighters who ARE doing their jobs - and well - and for the EMT's who are trying to work well in a broken system. I wish awareness was increased for how to support the families of Emergency Service workers and help them cope with the challenges. Adrenal fatigue and divorce rates among Emergency Services is alarmingly high for a reason. 

What can you do about it? Contact your local Police or Fire Chief and ask if their department or a particular shift could use a meal provided by you or your church group. Have your Sunday school class write thank-you notes. And next time you are going 15 miles over the speed limit, don't curse the blue lights you see in your rear view mirror. Surprise them and thank them for doing their job well. They are keeping you and your loved ones safe by being vigilant. 

Ministering to the Ministers IS a ministry. Even if the ministers are such in a non-traditional sense. 

0 Comments

Cool poetry

3/21/2016

0 Comments

 
I've never heard of this artist before, but our Pastor showed a poem of his in church yesterday. Finding Christian art that is either well/creatively presented AND Scriptural can be very challenging sometimes, so whenever I find something that seems to fit BOTH I do a long happy dance and try to share it with as many as I can. I hope it blesses you!
Click to set custom HTML
0 Comments

And the Truth will set you free

3/12/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
We have had a BUSY week! We both worked, I got school assignments done, had some very needed reconciliation-type conversations with some people halfway through the week, we went to a friend's graduation and saw some out of town friends, and then made a spur-of-the-moment trip to Nashville area to have breakfast with Kyle's Pap, and ended up staying until about dinner time. The poor waitress dutifully refilled our water glasses while we gabbed the day away, not really registering how much time had passed. 
While at the friend's graduation I had some really good heart-to-heart conversations with friend's fiance and sister-in-law. 

So this week's theme has really been centered around John 8:32 "Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you Free." 
All of these conversations had some kind of truth-revelation that was either unknown to me or unknown to the person I was speaking to, and a LOT got cleared up. It was hard and it was good, there were a lot of tears and apologies and laughter and forehead-smacking when realizations hit of "WHY didn't we know that SOONER!?" But its been a good reminder about how where secretes live there Satan has a foothold, and even though something may not be an overt lie, where there is deception, there demons have a side door. 
Can't (and won't) go into all the gory details now, but as we drove home from Nashville and Kyle and I kept saying, "WOW!" at random times, it really convicted us to pray about how to change our outlook on things and how to guard against continuing Generational Sin.
Joshua 24:15 says, "But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”
There is a lot of pride on both Kyle's side and my side of the family, but there's a lot of skeletons in the closets of both our families that have remained hidden I think out of consideration for our generation. Why bring up old dirt? Past is past, let it go and move on. However some of the things we learned really cleared up some mysteries as to why aunts and uncles or in-laws behave the way they do. While there was sin galore through a lot of the stories we were told, instead of it making Kyle and I want to chose sides or see family members differently, it really opened our eyes and gave us a new compassion for some people. How horrible to have to live all these years with THAT burden of guilt! It completely changed how we prayed for them and the others who had been hurt. While it doesn't completely change the present, it does give more hope for the future as we more strategically pray and search Scriptures more proactively.
I think we make the mistake of believing that Grace is reserved for Salvation, but then it doesn't really apply later on. Or we get so burned by other Christians who don't understand their Bible that we assume every other believer will treat us the same way. 
I've learned that I must be soooo careful to pray for discernment before confessing or asking for help at times. But asking the Holy Spirit for discernment and then acting when I sense He's moving has been so full of blessings I almost grieve that more people don't try it! 
We assume sin only hurts the people being sinned against. But how much time do we stop to consider how much sin is hurting the actual SINNER? We assume we have one of two jobs: to rush in with biblical guns blazing and announce to the world the evils being committed, or we bury ourselves in 'judge not lest ye be judged' and don't say a word. I don't think that's what Jesus meant. 

In John 8, there's an interesting story. 


Picture
2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.
But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
11 “No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

I have usually heard the focus on the fact that EVERYONE in that crowd sinned. No one could cast a stone,  Jesus treated the woman with respect, etc. However I usually don't hear as much focused on verse 10, or if I do its usually on the first half. 'Has no one condemned you?... then neither do I." And thats where it ends. However, the very last part is vital to the whole message: GO AND SIN NO MORE! The hope is that the woman's sin was exposed, she was probably internally punishing herself more than anyone else could, and knew she deserved death. But Jesus didn't let her off the hook after she said a public 'sorry.' He said, "Go and sin no more!" Go and do something! Get up and go! Share your testimony! Make it right through the visible change in your daily life!

What does all this have to do with the price of eggs in china? Well... for me personally, I've become more and more aware of the fact that there's a lot in my family and Kyle's family that isn't all as it seems or wasn't always the way it is now; in both the nuclear family of mom dad siblings to extended family. There's a lot of sin that has been swept under the rug and a lot of people walking around with decade old wounds, holding out for an apology that may never come. The sad thing is that 90% of the people entrenched in this bondage are all professing Christians. They punish each other for being punished by other's sin, which turns out to be sin on their part. 
This isn't what Christ died for. This is not what the New Testament, or even the Old Testament, is describing when it depicts a Community for Christ! I think too often, not only in my family but in families across the board in at least the American Church, this verse depicts the situation all too well:
​ 
For a son dishonors his father,
    a daughter rises up against her mother,
a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--
    a man’s enemies are the members of his own household.
7 But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
    I wait for God my Savior;
    my God will hear me.
Micah 7:6-7


Picture
But even if thats the case (sorry guys... the javascript on this webpage is reeeally messing up the colors of my font and its IRRITATING me!) if we do what the end of the verse says, that watching and hoping for the Lord, and waiting for God to be our savior, instead of our feelings of justice or need to force people into coming to a more sanctified realization of family, GOD WILL HEAR US. 
Truth sets us free. The Lord is our Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7). He WILL hear us, and He WILL have His way. So my whole point of this blog post is to 1. externalize what this week has been, and 2. to encourage everyone reading this blog: PLEASE PURSUE TRUTH! Even if its embarrassing, shameful, guilt riddled, painful, infuriating, or devastating, PURSUE it. And then give it to God and ask Him what to do with it. Sometimes He won't ask you to do anything besides hide that Truth in your heart and pray over it, fighting the Spiritual battle through strategic prayer. Sometimes He will ask you to facilitate an uncomfortable conversation that turns into a refreshing reconciliation. But Trust Him that the Truth really does set you Free. 


Picture
0 Comments

Aaaand classes have officially begun!

2/26/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our guest room has become my study cave. I knit while listening and watching lectures and then drop stitches when I drop the knitting to scribble notes.
Classes have officially started! I somehow missed that this was 'just' orientation week, so was in a raw panic the first half of the week as work, some drama, and learning the school's website and homework requirements kept me from actually completing any homework. But then I noticed that I had inversed the dates in my head, so I actually don't have anything due until NEXT week. Yay! Now I can go polish up my knowledge of triglyceridess, the difference between sucrose and glucose, and the difference between irradiated, denatured foods and a wholesome traditional diet. 
Yiikes!
And in other news, tonight is the first night of the Marriage Retreat Weekend at our church. Kyle and I are going, as much out of the awesomeness that we are actually an official married couple who is eligible to go to a marriage retreat as the fact that we know awesome marriages go in for regular, spiritual tune-ups.

Thats about all I got right now, folks. I've read my reading assignment, wrote and posted a book report, watched a lecture and listened to a lecture, and studied for a quiz. I'm in this panic mode now that if I don't get way ahead I'll fall way behind... and today is the first full-day off I've had in a while. So makin' hay while the sun shines (take the hint, you gloomy weather!)  and frying my brain in the process...
0 Comments

Happy New year... and Valentine's Day!

2/16/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
This was my expression after I shot a tazer at a friend's Family Day at the Police Acadamy. And yes, I hit the target not only where I was supposed to but also where I was aiming! Perpetrators, beware!
Picture

Hello again, cyberspace. Its been a while, hasn't it? Good news is we FINALLY have internet at our house again! Sorry, but the local library just does nothing for my creative genius, and I kept meaning to buy a zip drive, write blog posts at home on my personal computer, and then take it to the library. However... that clearly never happened. But here we are, in 2016! So far the year has held a MARVELOUS vacation to Florida with my Grandparents, who showed Kyle all our old haunts that we used to frequent when they took us to Florida every year as a kid. We even got to GO INSIDE their old condo, which they had sold about 10 years ago, because the man who currently owns it is the same one to whom they sold it. (Also  my Grandmother has no qualms about mortifying Grandchildren and asking people questions and their permission for us to experience and explore beyond the norm,  to broaden our archives of experience.) We also did a little exploring of new places and saw the Edison-Ford winter estates, which was FABULOUS. Kyle's Grandpa worked for Ford motor company for 50 years, so he was able to glean several tidbits to ask Pap next time we see him. 
We also got to see my dear friend from College who lives in Atlanta. We keep trying to schedule a week visit so that Kyle and I can see some other friends/relatives who live in the Atlanta area, but alas we have not yet been able to do so. 


Picture
after all the traveling, it was nice to cook again in my own teeny kitchen and use my cruncy-organicy-healthy ingredients!
PictureThis is how I study: comfy clothes, tankard of hot tea doctored with Raw Milk and Raw Honey, and lounging. If I try to be studious, it all goes out the window.
 
We got home and literally two days later got buried in snow. 13 inches to be precise. Which is essentially nothing to all of my kinfolk, however Ky is NOT equipped to handle such frigid precipitation! So instead of starting my new job I spent the week trying to get ahead on schoolwork. I can't remember if I have already mentioned that I am starting online classes this month to become a Nutritional Therapist? It is just a certification, not a license, but its a great jumping off point for any other kind of wholistic healthcare venue I want to pursue. And its a MARVELOUS ministry platform, both domestically and internationally.
I got into it because of some stress-related health issues my husband was having, and they are all but cleared up now thanks to the Weston A. Price diet introduced to us by my dear friend Christian's mom, who just completed her certification.  Its been kind of a let down because when I was reading all this stuff on my own time I could inhale it in, and now that I'm STUDYING for someone else, my husband has to keep reminding me that I WANT to do this! I CHOSE to do this! I LIKE doing this! (p.s. thank you for the encouragement, Baby!) He has brought me many mugs of tea, doctored JUST right with the necessary additives to make it delectable, thrown pillows at me when my brain can't take any more information and I start whining, and said that my spur-of-the-moment cooking is still delicious, even when its 8:30 because I forgot to start dinner until about 7... actually recently he's just been encouraging me to not cook a meal for 2 but rather for 8 about twice a week and then has been a huge sport about reheating and adding easy side dishes to spruce it up... How people got married in College/Seminary, worked, carried a full load of classes, had a kid AND graduated (without murder or divorce along the way) is entirely beyond me. However my husband keeps reminding me that freezer meals are options for those kind of folks, and not everyone turns their nose up to canned vegetables or refuses to let any spoiled milk go to waste before an attempt at salvage-cheese-making has been commenced... and SOME people don't insist on making all their own lotion from beeswax and infused oils... others even just buckle down and purchase socks instead of hand knitting all of them from natural fibers ...

I feel like he's trying to tell me something.... 

So that is the news from the Home Front. Kyle is still loving his work as a Firefighter and we are both so blessed by getting more and more plugged into our new Church Home. The women are doing a study based off of War Room, using the book Fervent, which has been SUCH a timely Blessing. Kyle's mens group is doing a Francis Chan study, and he is loving the gentle challenge the pastor gives everyone in the group to dive into Scripture and apply it into every area of their life. 

SO in a single sentence, how are we doing and how has this year been? Quite blessed. Incredibly happy. Glad God is keeping us in the Palm of His Hand. 


Picture
Pictures taken in the Georgian Appalachians on our drive home from Florida
0 Comments

Merry Christmas to all!

12/29/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
This was one of the most unique Christmas WEEKS I've had.  The only other time I've had this unique of a Christmas week was when I was overseas and experienced a Hungarian Baptist, 3-day Christmas celebration. I don't have time to go into all the details right now, but suffice it to say we were able to bless a lot of people through a lot of different scenarios! But through it all we were able to keep smiling and loving and blessing. I'm actually really not sure where the whole month of December went... maybe if I start posting pictures on Facebook and here I'll remember where it all went! 
I hope you had a very blessed Christmas and have a very Happy New Year! Goodbye, 2015!!! 
I'll see you in 2016!

0 Comments

Finally, the post about Herbs!

12/4/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
My kitchen has very little cabinet space, so we've discovered a new love of sturdy wooden shelves and tasteful glass containers that both house and display our tea supplies and spices
PictureSome of the herbs we bought from Mountain Rose Herbs. These are the mushrooms and seaweed stuffs I wrote about earlier

This post may have to end abruptly, because I am babysitting a friend's 2 1/2 year old this weekend. He's currently napping, but when he wakes up I'll have to hop to. He's very full of energy, life, and curiosity, which unsupervised leads to disaster but when supervised is really cute and entertaining. 
Anyway! So I finally have enough pictures and brainpower to write about herbs! We made a rather large order from Mountain Rose Herbs  and at first I was a little nervous that we were making too large of an order for our first time. However now I'm kind of wishing we'd made a larger order! First of all, I've been able to delve into the lovely world of blending my own teas - both for taste and health benefits - and I have LOVED it. I've discovered I have several tea-kindred-spirits, so on the one hand that's helped with Christmas present options, and on the other hand its bad because we're zipping through our order much faster than I thought we would!! 
The other benefit is that with all the teas we've been drinking our bodies are responding better than when we were using some very very very expensive vitamin/supplement samples a friend gave us. Kyle especially has had more stamina and energy. Usually by this point in the year we've been sick at least once, but so far Kyle's just had some I'm-about-to-get-a-cold symptoms that go away when I keep the tea and elderberry syrup coming. [My friend's 2 year old had the seasonal very-croupy-cough and I have been giving him watered-down elderberry syrup in his sippy cup, and alternating with rooibos tea, which he LOVES.] 
We've been loving incorporating herbs into our daily lives by sprinkling rosehip powder on our eggs, extra thyme and rosemary on chicken, maiitake and reishi mushrooms into our bone broth soups, and ayrvedic herbs into our regular nighttime relaxing teas. We've seen several pairs of eyebrows raise whenever we talk about how much we're enjoying the new herbs, and a few friends have jokingly made a few remarks about snake oils, and hippie's, and old wives tale herbs. 

Aaaaaand on that note the kid woke up, so I have to dash off for now. Will write the next installment of this tonight after he goes to sleep. 



Picture
This tea is actually from Jungle Jim's but I use it with Mountain Rose Herbs products and recipes to make a cleansing grains face scrub. I have had many comments about how glowing my skin is since using it! And roses plus green tea makes a tasty beverage, too!
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Author

    A normal woman learning to serve an Extraordinary Lord in Ordinary ways, and watching Him turn it into Amazing Grace!

    ©  2014-2015 Rachel Hester. All rights reserved. 

    Archives

    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Adventure
    Art
    Celebration
    Children
    Cooking
    DIY
    Family
    Folk Crafts
    Friends
    Garden
    Godly Womanhood
    Health
    Holidays
    Housework
    Intimidation
    Kids
    Knitting
    Legacy
    Life
    Love
    Marriage
    Ministry
    Nature
    Overcoming
    Pictures
    Reading
    Self Awareness
    Thankfulness
    Travel

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.